Samsung's Android Wear Smartwatch to get here in time for Christmas

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd said its new smartwatch will run Google's Android Wear operating system instead of its own Tizen software. The new wearable is expected to make its debut later this year.

Samsung's new smartwatch will run Google's Android Wear OS rather than Samsung's own Tizen software. Samsung has gone with Tizen for its Samsung Gear platform: the Gear 2 (released last April 11) and Gear 2 Neo (without a camera) will run that OS.

The company has also decided to use its own RTOS for the Gear Fit. Samsung Gear is Samsung's line of wearable computing devices introduced in 2013.

Yoon Han-kil, Samsung's senior vice president of product strategy, told Reuters that Samsung is working towards making its existing Gear smartwatches compatible with all Android phones and not just Samsung devices. This means that Samsung will support three separate wearable platforms in 2014.

Google, however, hasn't made public all the details of its Android Wear platform. Media reports said it will deliver a Google Now-like experience to a user's wrist, keeping him informed throughout the day. On the other hand, Samsung's watches running Tizen don't have as much contextual intelligence but are capable of making voice calls.

Yoon also said Samsung will introduce at least two smartphones running on its own Tizen operating system, a major step in Samsung's bid to limit its reliance on Android, which powers most of its mobile devices.

Tizen is a Linux-based operating system for smartphones, tablets, in-vehicle infotainment devices and laptops, among others. Tizen is a project within the Linux Foundation and is governed by a Technical Steering Group that includes Samsung and Intel.

Samsung also wants to open its own stream of revenue from sales of third-party apps and services on its devices that will challenge the worldwide market dominance of Android and Apple's iOS.